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Area Development

In Focus: Today’s Investments Inspiring Tomorrow’s Skilled Workforce Leaders

Investment in workforce training initiatives is essential not only to individual businesses but also to economic development on a local and national scale.

Q2 2023
The skilled trades are at a pivotal moment in time. More than a decade of understaffing issues remain unresolved as the Great Retirement looms, and current economic uncertainty is shifting budget priorities away from workforce development at many organizations. As for the next decade, the U.S. Bureau of Labor (BLS) is expecting about 10,000 job openings each year for electrical and electronics installers and repairers.

With job openings within the skilled trades increasing and the qualified hiring pool projected to shrink, the impacts of this gap won’t stop at project development. Organizations across various industries rely on building technology professionals for critical infrastructure maintenance to keep their systems operating optimally for a safe and comfortable environment.

Although the skilled trades candidate pipeline isn’t as flourishing as it once was, organizations have the opportunity to make a direct impact on the future of the industry by investing in workforce development initiatives such as vocational programs, training labs, or trade education. Inspiring future innovators and leaders to join this essential workforce is critical to not only individual businesses, but also economic development on a local and national scale.

Organizations across various industries rely on building technology professionals for critical infrastructure maintenance. Careers in the technical field offer promising trajectories for individuals of all ages, ranging from recent high school graduates to parents who are re-entering the workforce. Though there is a stereotypical image most have of a trade worker, through expanded awareness and education of the opportunities this career path can provide as a creatively and financially fulfilling option with plenty of opportunity for growth, people from all backgrounds and walks of life will be more inclined to train and apply for technician jobs.

Industry Leaders Are Collaborating
Current budgetary constraints don’t have to put a halt to workforce development initiatives. Between federal and local funding opportunities, such as the DOL Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program or the NYS Workforce Development Capital Grant Program, organizations can find the support they need to expand their workforce development efforts despite financial strain. Additionally, many industry leaders are working together to create solutions to this far-reaching challenge.

Careers in the technical field offer promising trajectories for individuals of all ages. For example, Johnson Controls recently expanded upon its five-year partnership with Lincoln Tech schools to create a program aiming to close the skilled trades gap. Johnson Controls Academy is a six-week paid technical program focused on the next generation of installation and service technicians with plans to onboard approximately 130 new technicians or more each year. Once graduated, students who complete the program are placed in full-time careers with Johnson Controls and offered relocation packages to communities nationwide.

By creating programs that help identify and train professionals who will join the skilled-labor workforce, organizations have the power to ignite innovation and positively impact the businesses that depend on highly skilled technicians. Through strategic investments in educational programs, we can narrow the skilled-labor gap by preparing tomorrow’s future-ready workforce with the digital and technical know-how to create more comfortable, safe, and sustainable buildings.

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